I've been meaning to start some discussion about resolving some of the GBVG/GBOT continuity issues for a while, so maybe I should get off my butt and do so, right?

It's been months since the game came out, so it's time to solicit some opinions on issues from the people who've actually played and digested it.

We'll start with one of the smaller issues, and see how it goes from here. The issue is the Mayor of New York City.

Real Life:

Democrat Ed Koch declines another run for Mayor of New York in 1989. The election is won by Democrat David Dinkins.

In 1993, Dinkins loses his bid for re-election; Republican Rudy Guiliani defeats him, and wins a second term in 1997. Guiliani does not run again in 2001; instead, he uses the increase in stature gained by other events to make a run for President in 2008; he fails to win the Republican nomination.

Republican Micheal Bloomburg wins the election in 2001, then is re-elected in 2005

GBOT as of September 2009:

Democrat Lenny Clotch (the GB movie and RGB mayor) declines another run for Mayor of New York in 1989, considering a run for Governor in 1990. The mayoral election is won by Republican Arnie Lapinski; at one point, the New York State Independant Party tries to draft Peter Venkman as their candidate (alluding to, without totally canonizing, events of Ghostbusters: The Return).

In 1993, Lapinski loses his bid for re-election; he is defeated in the Republican primary by Edwin MacShane (the EGB mayor), who wins a second term in 1997 and a third in 2001 MacShane does not run again in 2005; instead, he uses the increase in stature gained by other events to make a run for President in 2008. He fails to win the Republican nomination

The winner of the 2005 election has not been established, though the working assumption is that GBOT continuity gets a step closer to reality by having Micheal Bloomburg win the election.

GBVG:

Democrat Lenny Clotch (the GB movie and RGB mayor) declines another run for Mayor of New York in 1989, considering a run for Governor in 1990. The mayoral election is won by Jock Mulligan (GBVG mayor in 1991)

So what's on the table here?

1. Nothing changes. Arnie is still the Mayor from 1990-1993

Pros: No stories nor the GBI Timeline need to be revised.

Cons: Diverges from GBVG quite clearly on this area. Arnie is less well known, especially to any (possible) newer fans.

2. Jock Mulligan is retconned in as the Mayor from 1990-1993

Pros: Jock is the GBVG Mayor and is higher profile than Arnie

Cons: Several stories and the Timelines mention Arnie, and would require revision. This is not impossible--name changes have been done before, as Doris Melnitz Irwin and Dr. Jeff Nash could attest.

3. Jock Mulligan is "fictional", a made-up name so that Arnie Lapinski didn't sue the video game makers.

Pros: Same as #1; no stories nor the GBI Timeline need to be revised.

Cons: This is probably way too "meta"

I do figure that, whichever character ends up being Mayor in the early 1990's, we can have the other possibly be the "replacement" for Micheal Bloomberg: he's elected in the fall of 2005, takes office in 2006, and is the current Mayor until at least early 2010 (depending on whether he wins reelection this year).

He was decidedly elected as mayor on a "Pro-Ghostbusters" campaign, and after the incident in the video game, its pretty clear that most people in New York are going to be aware of what went down, and would they want the mayor who, lets face it, was responsible for the entire thing? This could be grounds for him resigning his office, which he wasn't even conscious when he won.

If Mulligan gives up his office, this would clear the way for slightly LESS changes to be required in the OT, so I think altering a few stories for the sake of having the higher profile character kept would be reasonable.

Okay. Here's a brainstorm to make both ideas work together a little bit...

The 1989 Mayoral election was hotly contested. Lenny Clotch had presided over three successful terms, but refused to endorse a candidate--he was too busy putting together a run for the New York Governor's office in 1990.

Without Clotch's endorsment, Democratic Nominee David Sommer started out with a big hill to climb, especially after the Republicans nominated Arnie Lapinski. The Ghostbusters were big at that time--they had just spectacularly reunited and saved the city from Vigo, and a second movie was coming out to boot. Lapinski undercut Sommer by starting with a very pro-GB platform.

This changed quickly when the New York State Independant Party loudly courted the very popular Dr. Peter Venkman for their ticket. Unlike in The Return, Venkman eventually declines--leading the NYSIP to nominate Jock Mulligan.

Mulligan runs on a very pro-GB platform, and defeats Lapinski in the November 1989 election. From there, we get to fall 1991, the events of the Video Game, and the Ghostbusters then going out of business (according to XGB and GBOT continuity)

The door is opened for the 1993 election to be won by GOP candidate Edwin MacShane, who could tap into anto-GB sentiment by pointing out that he was the federal prosecutor who got the company shut down in 1986 (per "Busted")

From there, things pretty much proceed as they had before: MacShane wins a second term in 1997, a third in 2001, and leaves office on January 1, 2006 to run for President. He fails. (Per "Eye of Aretpo", where Bud mentions real Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama)

It leaves in a little acknowledgement of The Return--which despite it's problems (using the Janine/Louis relationship, for example) and it's continuity dealbreakers, was actually a pretty decent book--but brings GBOT fan fic continuity slightly more in line with the Video Game.

So far this is looking easier than I thought it would be--the Timeline entries for 1989 and 1993; the "newspaper" stories "Back In the Saddle?" and "Twenty Five Years Later"; and parts 3 and 4 of "Pandora's Box".

If anybody sees any more mention of Arnie Lapinski, let me know here.

Now I just gotta decide whether to go ahead and upload the revisions, or wait until we get some of the other issues resolved first, getting anything else that might be needed done all at once.